Imperial Capital Hires Energy Team in Houston

Published 8:45 AM ET Tue, 11 July 2017
Globe Newswire

LOS ANGELES, July 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Capital Group, LLC (“Imperial Capital”) announced the expansion of its Institutional Research and Investment Banking presence across the energy sector, with the addition of seven seasoned professionals, formerly of Wunderlich Securities, Inc. Joining the Investment Banking Energy Team based in Houston are Kevin Andrews (Managing Director, Head of Energy Investment Banking), Daniel DeSnyder (Managing Director), Lenny Bianco (Senior Vice President), and Chris Lang (Vice President). Also based in Houston, the research team will include senior energy analysts, Jason Wangler and Irene Haas, as well as Jiuying “Claire” Ye as an Associate.

“With the addition of these energy professionals, we are continuing the overall focus of the firm to add growth in sectors of the economy that are active users of capital,” said Christopher Shepard, EVP, Co-Head of Investment Banking. “They bring to Imperial deep industry knowledge and extensive expertise in all segments of the energy sector which will expand our existing coverage in both Institutional Research and Investment Banking and allow us to deliver more product to our institutional and corporate clients.”

“We are very excited to team with our new partners at Imperial Capital to provide a comprehensive energy investment banking service targeting the middle market oil and gas sector,” said Kevin Andrews, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investment Banking. “Imperial’s track record of providing quality ideas and first class execution in the debt capital markets and restructuring space pairs well with our history of providing equity capital markets solutions, our technical approach to A&D and strategic advisory, and our highly-regarded research.”

Kevin Andrews joins Imperial Capital as a Managing Director and Head of Energy in the Investment Banking Group. With more than 20 years of energy sector experience through investment banking, industry, and public accounting, Mr. Andrews served as a Managing Director and Head of Energy with Wunderlich for the previous five years. Prior to Wunderlich, Mr. Andrews was a Managing Director for Pritchard Capital Partners, LLC and Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc. Preceding Morgan Keegan, Mr. Andrews served as Chief Financial Officer of Denali Inc., a provider of fluid handling products and as a Corporate Development and Financial Manager for Moorco International, Inc., and EnviroTech, a subsidiary of Baker Hughes. Mr. Andrews earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a MBA from The University of Tulsa.

Daniel DeSnyder joins Imperial Capital as a Managing Director with 20 years of experience in investment banking, the oil and gas industry, and policymaking. Prior to joining Imperial, Mr. DeSnyder served as a Director for Wunderlich. He started his career as an advisor to the Clinton and W. Bush administrations, where he received awards for his work related to Persian Gulf and Central Asian energy policy. Later, he held a variety of increasingly senior positions at Shell Oil Company, including roles managing teams both onshore and offshore. His banking experience includes capital markets and advisory work at Harrision Lovegrove, Standard Chartered Bank, and GMP Securities, where he led the A&D team. He holds Petroleum Engineering and Economics degrees from the Colorado School of Mines, and an undergraduate degree from Williams College.

Lenny Bianco joins Imperial Capital as a Senior Vice President with more than 10 years of engineering and finance experience, primarily focused on the energy sector. Most recently, Mr. Bianco served as a Vice President in the energy investment banking department for Wunderlich. In addition, Mr. Bianco was a senior equity research associate at Raymond James & Associates and an equity research associate at Pritchard Capital Partners. Prior to embarking on his career in finance, he was a civil/structural engineer focused on the downstream sector of the energy industry and industrial/commercial building design. Mr. Bianco holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MBA from the University of Houston. During his time at the University of Houston, he was an analyst and senior portfolio manager at the Cougar Investment Fund.

Chris Lang joins Imperial Capital’s Investment Banking Group as a Vice President. Before Imperial, Mr. Lang was an Associate at Wunderlich, where he advised on a wide range of transactions including debt financings, M&A, and equity capital raises while also serving as an engineer in the A&D group. Prior to Wunderlich, Mr. Lang was a Senior Associate at Grant Thornton in both the Transaction Services and Corporate Advisory and Restructuring groups, where he focused on the energy and manufacturing industries. Mr. Lang has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and holds a master of business administration from Baylor University.

Jason Wangler joins Imperial Capital’s Institutional Research Group as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst with over ten years of research experience in the Exploration and Production (E&P) and Oilfield Services (OFS) sectors. Most recently, Mr. Wangler served as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst with Wunderlich, covering the E&P and OFS sectors of the energy space. Prior to this, Mr. Wangler worked on the research teams of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Dahlman Rose & Company, as well as Netherland, Sewell, & Associates, Inc. as a Petroleum Analyst. Mr. Wangler was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a "Best on the Street" Analyst in 2010 and has been a guest commentator on CNBC. Mr. Wangler has a BS degree in Finance from the University of Nevada and a MS in Finance from the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston.

Irene Haas joins Imperial Capital as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst. With over 19 years of experience as a Senior Research Analyst in the Oil and Gas Exploration & Production sector, Ms. Haas most recently served as a Managing Director for Wunderlich. Ms. Haas also served as a Managing Director with Canaccord Genuity and founded the company's Energy Team in Houston in 2006. Additionally, Ms. Haas spent eight years covering E&P names at Sanders Morris Harris after a stint at Morgan Stanley. Prior to her career on the sell side, she worked as an Exploration Geophysicist at ExxonMobil for 13 years, prospecting for oil and gas in Offshore Alaska, Offshore Gulf of Mexico, Central and North Africa and Central America. Ms. Haas has a BA in Geology from Rice University, a MS in Marine Geophysics from the University of Delaware and a MBA from Rice University.

Claire Ye will join Imperial Capital as an Associate in the research team supporting the Senior Research Analysts and covering the energy sector. Prior to Imperial, Ms. Ye was an Equity Research Associate with Wunderlich Securities with a focus on the E&P sectors of the energy space. Preceding Wunderlich, she served as an Analyst covering the oil & gas markets for Greenwing Petroleum LLC. Ms. Ye completed internships as an Equity Analyst with Tightline Capital LLC and Hancock Horizon Fund, as well an investment banking internship with Global Hunter Securities LLC. After earning her BA in Economics from Central University of Finance and Economics in Bejing, Ms. Ye relocated to New Orleans where she received a Master of Management in Energy from Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business.

About Imperial Capital, LLC

Imperial Capital is a full-service investment bank offering a uniquely integrated platform of comprehensive services to institutional investors and middle market companies. We offer sophisticated sales and trading services to institutional investors and a wide range of investment banking advisory, capital markets and restructuring services to middle market corporate clients. Paired with our proprietary research and sales & trading desk analysis, we provide investment analysis across an issuer's capital structure, including bank loans, debt securities, the hybrid/bank capital marketplace (through our ELP Framework), post-reorganization equities, special situations claims and listed and unlisted equities. Our comprehensive and integrated service platform, expertise across the global capital structure, and deep industry sector knowledge enable us to provide clients with research driven ideas, superior advisory services, and trade execution. We are quick to identify opportunities under any market conditions and we have a proven track record of offering creative, proprietary solutions to our clients. Imperial Capital has three principal businesses: Investment Banking, Institutional Sales & Trading and Institutional Research. More information about Imperial Capital can be found at www.imperialcapital.com.